Top US negotiator Robert Lighthizer ‘read Chinese the riot act’ to get trade talks back on track, Larry Kudlow says
- US trade representative was not pleased when deputy-level negotiations hit an impasse last week, according to the White House economic adviser
- Kudlow appeared optimistic during an interview on CNBC, citing ‘terrific’ progress in talks
Trade talks between the United States and China collapsed at one point last week because of an impasse at the deputy level and were only salvaged when the chief US negotiator harshly reprimanded the Chinese side, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow revealed on Thursday.
“The first day of the deputies’ meetings went very poorly,” Kudlow told CNBC, referring to discussions on February 19 led by deputy US trade representative Jeffrey Gerrish. “And the second day was cancelled because of that.”
After the breakdown of the discussions, US trade chief Robert Lighthizer “read them the riot act”, Kudlow said.
Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He “responded ... and all of a sudden everything picked up”, he said.
Kudlow, who is director of the National Economic Council, was part of the high-level discussions, which were extended from two days to four as both sides sought to reach consensus on a number of issues.